Monday, August 8, 2016

Safe Food Labeling Act — Less Label Clarity and Less Safety?

While Americans have been bombarded with news of Pokemon sightings,
legislation concerning our food safety passed through the House, with
barely a whisper from the mainstream media.

The House of Representatives submitted a bill “H.R. 1599 – The Safe & Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015”,
which has been nicknamed the DARK Act (“Denying Americans the Right to
Know”). The Safe & Accurate Food Labeling Act is a misnomer as it
actually takes away accurate food labeling. Vermont was the first State
in the nation to pass mandatory GMO labeling laws but the powerful
corporation Monsanto has used its political influences for taking away
the individual States’ rights to address the issues in their own
backyard.

The Government’s public relations office did an admirable job spinning
the issue as a win for consumers, when in reality we all lose. Under
this legislation, GMOs (genetically modified organisms) will have to be
identified in food products—however, such notification will be contained
in QR codes, not actual written words on the label (and products still
may contain GMOs as words such as “natural” are being redefined). This
is absurd on so many levels: not everyone has a smart phone; not
everyone will know how to download an app to read the QR code; and consumers should not have to use uncommon technology to do their grocery shopping.

Monsanto, the biotech giant, has a long history of tainting our food supply,
bullying/litigating against farmers just trying to make a decent
living, and lobbying government to keep consumers in the DARK: